Water Quality

Water Quality

"No water, no life. No blue, no green." — Sylvia Earle

The Tennessee River Gorge Trust established a water quality program in late 2015 to monitor perennial streams in the Gorge. We partner with the Tennessee Aquarium and GA Adopt-A-Stream to continue certification as chemical, bacterial, and macroinvertebrate monitors. We test monthly for stream pH levels, dissolved oxygen, temperature, conductivity, fecal coliforms, and aquatic macroinvertebrates. TRGT will use this information to understand how we impact our water supply and the important role we play in water conservation.

Collected data is submitted to Georgia-Adopt-A-Stream and can be viewed here.

Sample Parameters

+ Temperature

Temperature affects the feeding, respiratory, and metabolic activity of aquatic organisms. Stream temperature is often altered by anthropogenic influences such as increased temperatures from road and roof runoff, which can subsequently alter species composition in our waters. Temperature also controls the solubility of oxygen into water. High temperatures correlate to lower dissolved oxygen concentrations, making it harder for species with gills to breathe.

+ Dissolved Oxygen

Dissolved oxygen (D.O.) is measured as percent saturation and concentration (mg/L). Aquatic organisms require certain concentrations of D.O. in the water just like we require a certain concentration in the air. Dissolved oxygen is naturally limited by temperature, photosynthesis, and microbial decomposition; however, pollution also limits D.O. directly or indirectly, by altering temperature and primary production.

+ Fecal Coliforms

Escherichia coli (E.coli) is a coliform bacteria specific to humans and other warm-blooded animal fecal waste. Thus, it is commonly used to detect pathogenic (disease-causing) conditions in a waterway. Our sampling results are compared to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s E. coli standards for recreational use. This way, we can determine if fecal pollution is a problem in the Tennessee River Gorge.

+ pH

Too low or high pH is detrimental to aquatic organisms. Most require a pH range of 6.8 – 8.2. Deviation from this range alters the solubility of important nutrients as well as toxic heavy metals, which can threaten the reproductive success of aquatic organisms. Human-induced pollution is a common cause of changes in stream pH such as hypereutrophication, acid mine drainage, and illegal dumping.

+ Macroinvertebrate Monitoring

Aquatic macroinvertebrates, such as insects and crayfish, are indicators of stream quality because they are affected by the physical, chemical, biological, and morphological conditions of a steam. Understanding our watershed’s macroinvertebrate population will provide valuable information that will help us make land management decisions and track environmental quality over time. We collect macroinvertebrate samples every 3 months. Trained staff and volunteers identify macroinvertebrates in the field and then release the organisms back into the stream.

Mariah Prescott, Lead Water Quality Monitor

Mariah is an ISA Certified Arborist and holds a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science from Michigan State University. She fell in love with the great outdoors while exploring the rugged mountains, slot canyons, and rivers around Flagstaff, Arizona where she lived for 8 years. Mariah, her husband Greg, her son Forrest, and her dog Louie can't imagine living anywhere else. When she is not busy with being the Chair of the Tree Commission or a Committee Member for the Southeast Conservation Corps, you may find her rock climbing or paddle boarding through the Gorge.

Research News

The Tennessee River Gorge Trust has recently established a water quality program to monitor perennial streams in the Gorge. TRGT will use this information to understand how we impact our water supply and the important role we play in water conservation.

It's here! Dave Jacobs, our Climate Change Vulnerability Researcher, is finished with all the on-the-ground phases of his survey of ecological systems. He has created this beautiful map with his data that will be invaluable to the Trust's stewardship and acquisition decisions moving forward.

Since May 2014 when Dave started his CCVA project, he's taken crash courses on topics ranging from ecological structure (i.e. how landscapes form and change) to data management to imagery interpretation, just to name a few. All this learnin' has led him to a new protocol that he is confident will lead to a successful Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment by May 2016.